Economy in Brief: 2012

Economic growth recovered somewhat last quarter. Real GDP increased at a 2.0% (2.3% y/y) annual rate, up from the unrevised 1.3% Q2 gain. Consensus expectations were for a 1.8% rise. Improved growth in domestic final sales drove the [...]

Durable goods orders recovered 9.9% (2.5% y/y) last month following the 13.1% falloff during August. The improvement was better than the 7.0% Consensus forecast. A 31.7% rise in orders for transportation equipment led the rebound as [...]

Pending sales of single-family homes ticked up 0.3% last month after a sharp and unrevised 2.6% August decline, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). While sales have risen nearly one-third from the 2010 low, the [...]

The Chicago Federal Reserve reported that its National Activity Index (CFNAI) rebounded to 0.00 during September from -1.17 during August, revised from -0.87. The three-month moving average improved to -0.37 but still was nearly the [...]

There's been volatility in the recent readings for initial jobless insurance claims. The sharp decline in last week's figure to 369,000 from 392,000, revised from 388,000, left the four week moving average at a slightly reduced [...]

The U.S. House Price Index from the Federal Housing and Finance Agency (FHFA) gained 0.6% during August following an unrevised 0.2% July increase. The rise lifted the y/y advance to 4.7%, its strongest since 2006. That followed four [...]

As expected, the Federal Open Market Committee today left the Federal funds rate in a "range from 0 to 1/4 percent." The Fed funds rate has remained unchanged since late-2008 at its lowest level ever. The discount rate also was left [...]

The Mortgage Bankers Association index of total mortgage applications fell 12.0% last week (+27.8% y/y), down for the third straight week. The decline was led by a 12.9% drop (+34.0% y/y) in applications to refinance an existing loan. [...]